It’s a little unsettling to watch a laid-back Woody Harrelson nibbling a healthy seaweed salad in a luxury hotel suite the morning after watching him play a vicious psychopath named Harlan DeGroat in the rust-belt drama “Out of the Furnace.”

It’s just a movie, but one wonders how the same actor who played the sweet but clueless bartender on the classic TV series “Cheers” could reach so deep inside to bring back such a bone-chilling performance.

“I brought a little bit of Maui with me,” the soft-spoken actor says of the salad that he apparently brought with him on a red-eye flight from his home in Hawaii.

He apologizes for eating in front of me, but I am not about to deny him anything – not after seeing this movie.

Harrelson will explain how he played this character, who is introduced to the audience in the opening scene of the movie. Let’s put it this way; you will have no doubt as to his bad intentions when he meets up later with the hero of the movie, played by Christian Bale.

Bale plays a good man in an economically depressed area of Pennsylvania. He works hard in the mill and always tries to do the right thing with his family. He cares for both his dying father and his younger brother (Casey Affleck), an Army veteran who is deeply troubled after multiple tours in Iraq. Bale’s character is imprisoned after a tragic accident, and he returns home to discover that his brother is mixed up with the likes of Harlan DeGroat. Heaviness ensues.

This holiday season is a busy time for Harrelson, and it’s not all heavy and violent. It’s a little violent in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” in which the actor reprises his role as a former Hunger Games victor who helps Katniss, and there is considerably less violence in the animated film “Free Birds,” in which Harrelson voices a turkey.

Harrelson, who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a casualty notification officer in the 2010 film “The Messenger,” will be seen next month opposite Matthew McConaughey in the HBO cop drama “True Detective.”

Oh, if you’re expecting the politically outspoken Woody Harrelson in this interview, you won’t be disappointed.

Q.I have heard countless actors say that the best way to play a bad guy is not to play him as a bad guy because bad guys don’t see themselves as evil. Your character in this film is so evil, I was wondering how you found his essence?

A. If you’re going to play a character like this, you have to care about the person in a weird way. You might ask, “How could you care about Harlan DeGroat?” Well, it’s only through back story and stuff, and I asked Scott (director Scott Cooper) for his back story. Then you add a little imagination to that, and there’s your character.

Q. Could you give me an idea of the back story Scott told you?

A. I don’t really like to talk about those things. But if you’re playing someone you loathe, then there’s probably an element of self-loathing in the character.

Q.Are you saying that you don’t like discussing the process of finding a character?

A. I think it’s so damn dull to listen to an actor talk about his process. I want to shoot myself when I hear an actor talking about his process. It might be interesting to some folks but it bores the hell out of me.

Woody Harrelson is getting some Oscar buzz for his portrayal of the psychotic gangster Harlan DeGroat in the rust-belt drama "Out of the Furnace." PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
Woody Harrelson plays Harlan DeGroat, who is one scary dude, in "Out of the Furnace." KERRY HAYES, RELATIVITY MEDIA
Woody Harrelson and Christian Bale appear in a scene from "Out of the Furnance." KERRY HAYES, RELATIVITY MEDIA
Woody Harrelson and Willem Dafoe appear in a scene from "Out of the Furnace." KERRY HAYES, RELATIVITY MEDIA
Woody Harrelson and Willem Dafoe appear in a scene from "Out of the Furnace." KERRY HAYES, RELATIVITY MEDIA
Woody Harrelson says he couldn't wait to get out of the character of Harlan DeGroat, the villain he plays in "Out of the Furnace." KERRY HAYES, RELATIVITY MEDIA
Christian Bale, left, and Woody Harrelson chat with director Scott Cooper between takes on the set of "Out of the Furnace." KERRY HAYES, RELATIVITY MEDIA
In lighter fare, Woody Harrelson voices the character of Jake in "Free Birds," an animated movie that came out earlier this year. NORMAN SHAPIRO, RELATIVITY MEDIA
Woody Harrelson provided the voice of Jake in the animated movie "Free Birds." RELATIVITY MEDIA
Philip Seymour Hoffman, left, and Woody Harrelson appear in a scene from "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." MURRAY CLOSE, LIONSGATE
Woody Harrelson, left, appears with his good friend Willie Nelson on stage at the 14th Annual Environmental Media Awards in Los Angeles in 2004. FILE PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

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